Village considering zoning code changes for towers
By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
On the heels of a controversial application last fall, Rochester officials are kicking off the new year with a review of the village’s regulations for telecommunications towers.
Village Administrator-Treasurer Betty Novy discussed with the Village Board a proposed review of Rochester’s zoning code at a meeting Jan. 11. The talks focused on how the towers can be regulated locally with federal and state regulations in mind.
In September, Green Bay-based Bug Tussel Wireless Cloud 1 LLC applied to install a 304-foot-high guy wired lattice cell tower in a rural section of Rochester at 34914 Oak Knoll Road.
Nearby residents had an outcry over the proposal, citing concerns of declining property values, aesthetics and safety. The village Plan Commission in October ultimately shot down Bug Tussel’s application, citing a failure to meet each of a lengthy list of conditions.
“Going through that process with the Plan Commission prompted us to take a little closer look at the village’s tower siting ordinance,” Novy said at this week’s meeting as she outlined the rationale behind the deeper look into what is on the village’s books.
The Village Board opted to send the review to members of the village’s Ordinance Committee for a more thorough comb-through of what could be amended in the road ahead. The review, however, will not preclude another cell tower proposal that is on the village’s docket.
Novy this week reported Bug Tussel has re-applied to build a telecommunications tower at the same site, albeit in a modified form. The Plan Commission is expected to review the application next month.
Speaking to the new application, Novy said, “The proposed height has been scaled back significantly and the proposed location of the tower has been moved back farther from the road.”
Federal authorities have in place a number of regulations for cell towers. At the same time, state statute limits how municipalities across Wisconsin can accept or deny conditional-use permit applications.
“If they meet the code, they’re going to get the permit,” Novy said.
While Rochester’s ordinance review of telecommunications towers is set to get underway as 2021 progresses, Novy emphasized it will have no bearing on Bug Tussel’s revised application.
“This is just a tool, looking to the future, of how we can regulate these things,” Novy said. “You can’t go backward with our ordinances. It’s only from the effective date and forward.”
Village President Ed Chart said he believed the review would be beneficial to Rochester if and when future applications are filed.
I think there are a few things we can do to sturdy up the ordinance a little bit, even if it’s not going to help next month,” Chart said.
Trustee Doug Webb offered similar sentiments during this week’s deliberations.
“This is something we should’ve done a long time ago,” Webb said. “We need to work on this for the future.”
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